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"Alive or dead" is not a determination to make hastily, as fans of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" realize. Yet a tree's dormancy resembles death to the same extent as did Juliet's drugged sleep. A Fuyu persimmon tree (Diospyros kaki "Fuyu") is deciduous and spends winter in an inactive state, without leaves, flowers, fruit or other outward signs of life. The tree's internal timer programs it to grow again as the longer-sunlight, warmer days of spring arrive. Even if you think your Fuyu persimmon tree has passed into the great orchard in the sky, rash action is unwise and unwarranted. Take the time to figure out whether or not the tree is alive. Fuyu persimmon is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 7 through 10.

1

Consider the time of year. In winter and early spring, bare branches on a Fuyu persimmon tree are not alarming. Persimmon trees are deciduous; their leaves turn sunset shades and waft from the trees every year in autumn, even while large fruits hang on the tree.

2

Check your tree for leaves and fragrant, non-showy flowers in late spring. Look for oval leaves emerging yellow-green in spring then turning shiny and dark in summer. Watch for either solo, cream-colored female flowers or clustered, pink male flowers. If June passes without leaves or flowers, your tree probably is dead.

3

Grasp a lower branch of the persimmon tree, and bend its tip at a 45-degree angle. A live branch bends while a dead branch snaps, breaking. Try several branches if the first branch snaps; it takes only one live branch to signal a living tree.

4

Scrape off a line of outer bark from a dead-looking persimmon branch with your thumbnail or a knife. Inspect the cambium, which is the plant tissue beneath the outer bark. Green cambium indicates that the tree is alive; brown or gray cambium means that at least the inspected branch is dead. Check other branches in the same manner if the first branch appears to be dead; if any branch is alive, the tree is alive.

Things You Will Need

Knife (optional)

Tips

Persimmons fall into two categories: those producing astringent fruits and those producing non-astringent fruits. If you eat astringent fruits before they are ripe, your mouth will pucker dryly. Most people can eat astringent fruits only when the fruits are gooey and soft. Non-astringent persimmons, like those from a Fuyu tree, can be eaten when they are as hard as apples or allowed to soften first.

Fuyu persimmon trees offer reddish-orange fruits in midsummer, but the fruits can hang on the trees for several months before falling.

If you want bigger persimmons, try growing a giant Fuyu Japanese persimmon (Diospyros Kaki "Giant Fuyu," Jiro Type), which is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 8 through 10.

Warning

Look for root suckers in a Fuyu persimmon tree. Remove them as they grow unless you want the tree to naturalize.

About the Author

From Alaska to California, from France's Basque Country to Mexico's Pacific Coast, Teo Spengler has dug the soil, planted seeds and helped trees, flowers and veggies thrive. World traveler, professional writer and consummate gardener, Spengler earned a BA from U.C. Santa Cruz, a law degree from Berkeley's Boalt Hall, and an MA and MFA from San Francisco State. She currently divides her life between San Francisco and southwestern France.